Slidably housed multi-bladed tool with release selector



Feb, 4, 1958 R. L. WURGAFT 2,821,724

,SLIDABLY HOUSED MULTI-BLADED vTOOL WITH RELEASE SELECTOR Filed MaIGh 2. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l mw www M, \T. l7 @m m l fw mm NY Y ,.m .Qq N. |L s N n WN WNW RN WN FWHM n .RN w...

Feb. 4, 195s R. l..y WURGAFT SLIDABLY HOUSED MULTI-BLADED TOOL WITH'- RELEASE SELECTOR l 2 Sheets-Skeet 2` Filed March 2, i955 @055er L. waz l IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent@ SLIDABLY HOUSED MULTI-BLADED TOOL WITH RELEASE SELECTOR Robert L. Wurgaft, Anaheim, Calif.

Application March 2, 1955, Serial No. 491,576

3 Claims. (Cl. 7-15) This invention relates to multiple-bladed hand` tools in which any one ofv several blades may be selectively projected to an operating position, the others remaining so covered by the handle of the tool that they do not interfere with its operation. As shown and. described in this specication and the accompanying drawings, the

tool is a multiple bladed screw-driver but obviously the principles of this invention may be applied to any tool having different sizes of elongated blades, such as reamers, gauges, or the like.

-It is an object of my invention to provide a truly selective hand-tool which the operatormay manipulate to extrude precisely the blade which he desires, the other blades remaining in the handle.

Another object of my invention is to provide a selective hand-tool having a wide range of selectivity, and to promote this object, the selecting mechanism is caused to act solely upon the shafts of the blades, which may be alike in character, while the actual blades or tool ends may vary in nature and function, as well as in size.

Still another object ofV my invention is to provide a selective hand tool in which the various blade shafts are capable of individual motion, yet collectively support one another to give the entire tool rmness and to prevent relative rotation ofthe blades.

A more general object of my invention is to provide a sturdy and relatively inexpensive selective hand-tool, in which the selective locking mechanism, although it may vary in detail, acts upon a principle of great simplicity with-regard to all of the blades of the tool.

Other objects and useful advantages ofmy invention will become apparent as the following specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrative ofy several possible embodiments of my invention but not intended to be all-inclusive,

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly broken away to show details in section, of a screw-driver having three blade units, each provided'at each'end with an etfective tool, with a rotatable selector and-lock by which all the blade units are governed;

Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view in a plane at right'angles to Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line of section 3.--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4--4 of Fig. l, showing one of the blades locked;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, showing the blade unlocked `and released for longitudinal movement;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view ofa modied form of my invention, also having a` rotatable selector landlock but of a type suitable where four blades are arranged in arsquare;

Fig. 7 is atransverse sectional view on the line 7-7 of'Fig. 6, showing all' of the blades locked;

Fig. Sisfa view similar to Fig. 7,v showing one of the bl'ades unlocked and capableoflongitudinal movement;

Fig. 9 is a-perspectiveview of a portion of oneiof the 2,821,724 lPatented Feb. 4, 1,358

blades shown in Fig. 6, showing the lock indentations;`

have illustrated in Figs. 1-5 a preferred embodiment of4r my. invention in which a plurality of blades, 15, 15, 15, are grouped within a handle 16, with their ends 17, 18,

extending outwardly from the handle 16 so -as to be easily identifiable. The bore 19v of the handle 16 is non-circular,v

and the shafts 20a, 20h, 20c of the blades are also noncircular so as tobe incapable of rotating one against the others, or relatively to the handle as a whole. Asshown, the bore 19 is rectangular in cross-section and each of the. shafts 20a, 20h, and 20c are also rectangular in cross section, and the group of shafts form a rectangular block,

any shaft of which may slide lengthwise within the bore- 19, sliding also against the neighboring shafts, but allY must maintain the same transverse orientation relatively to one another and to the bore of the shaft.

Each of the blades 15 is provided with at least two` transverse channels, the channels being spaced apart on therespective shafts and being on the same side of eachof the shafts and approximately in the same plane so as` to be capable of being engaged by a single locking mem ber when suitably aligned. Channels 21a, 2lb, and 21C, may be placed near one end of the respective shafts 20a, 2017, and 20c but so as to lie within the bore 19 when the blades are all retracted therewithin. Channels 22a, 22b,

and 22e` may be spaced toward the middle parts of the` respective shafts at points on the shafts which will still be within the bore 19 even though the` blades be extended from the handle to operating positions. If the blades 15 lare intended for double-ended use, as illustrated, `a third group of channels 23a, 23b, and 23e may be placed adjacent the other ends `of the shafts, at points approximately symmetrical to the placing of the channels 21a, 2lb, and 21e.

At the position near the center of the handle 16 normally aligned with the channels 22a, 22b, and 22C when yall the shafts are retracted within the handle, is a selectingand locking member 24, extending transversely of the handle in a plane in which it may engage any and all of any group of channels, and rotatably mounted. The

selecting and locking member 24 is, generally speaking, round in cross-section, and the'various channels 21, 22, and 23'are cut on curves of the same diameter so as 'to fit the selective and locking member 24 tightly and th'usI to lock the respective blades against moving or rattling. In the longitudinal planes of the handle 19 occupied respectively by each of the shafts Zila, Ztlb, and 20c the selectingV and locking member is provided with ats 25a, 25b, and 25C, cut to chords which will clear the respective channels of the shafts to permit the shafts to be unlocked, and these flats are arranged at diierent circumferential positions on the selecting and locking member 24, so that by suitable rotation of that member any one shaft may be unlocked while the other shafts remain locked. Along one elemental arc 26 of the selecting and lockingv member 24, no flat occurs, or at least no at has sucient depth to permit its respective shaft to escape, andthe arc 26 may be termed the universal locking arc. 'I`he:.selecting and locking member Z4 is provided with` a suitablev handle27 by which it may be rotated, andwith a spring 28 which is biased v toretul'n the member to a rotative position in which the universal locking arc is oriented toward the shafts 20.

It will be understood that vinstead.Y of one group of blades, as illustrated, lying parallel in the same plane, there may be two groups, in parallel planes, and these' groups may be locked or unlocked by a single selecting and locking member 24 disposed between them, or by duplicate selecting and locking members, the latter structure being mere duplication in one tool of the structure illustrated.

In the operation of the above-described embodiment of my invention, the operator turns the handle 27 to bring, say, the flat 25a into register with the shaft 20a as shown in Fig. 5. The shaft 20a is then free to move in either longitudinal direction, the other shafts remaining locked. As soon as the shaft 20a is moved slightly, say toward the right in Fig. 1 to bring its tool end 17 into operating position, the handle 27 may be released. When the shaft 20a is pulled or shaken out so that the channel 23a is in alignment with the selecting and locking member 24, the member 24 will be turned by the spring 28 to bring the universal locking arc 26 into the channel 23a as shown in Fig. 4. The three shafts will then be locked respectively by their channels 23a, 22h, and 22o. To retract the tool into the tool handle 16, the selecting and locking member 24 is again rotated to bring the flat 25a into register with the shaft 20a, and the shaft is pushed back to its original position, and immediately locked automatically by the action of the spring 28.

In the modified form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9, a group of rectangular blade shafts 30a, 30b, 30C and 30d are grouped symmetrically in a square in the bore 32 of 4a handle 31 which has rotatable selecting and locking members 33 and 34 on its either end. The blade shafts, as previously, may not rotate individually or collectively, but may slide lengthwise, one upon the others, and have tool ends 35 and 36 extending through the members 33 and 34.

The shafts 30a, 30b, 30e, and 30d have channels 37a, 37b, 37C, and 37d, cut in the shoulders where the respective shafts merge with the respective tool ends 35, upon the outer corners of the shafts forming corners of their collective square grouping. Similarly oriented channels 38a, 38h, 38C, and 38d are cut in the respective shafts at mid-points on the shafts, and similarly oriented channels 39a, 39b, 39e, and 39d are cut at the ends of the respective shafts at the shoulders adjacent the tool ends 36.

The rotatable selecting and locking members 33 and 34 are alike, each having a central orice 40 which is circular for three-quarters of its periphery and has two tangential sides 41 and 42 meeting in a right angle shown at 43. The circular portion 44 fits slidingly in any of the channels aligned therewith, it being necessary to have at least three channels so aligned to permit its rotation. The angle 43 is the corner of a square just slightly larger than the square formed by the composite grouping of the four shafts 30a, 30b, 30e, and 30d. When the rotatable selecting and locking member 33 or 34 is turned to the position shown in Fig. 7, in which the tangential sides 41 and 42 lie in the channels of two of the shafts, and the circular portion 44 lies in the channels of the other two shafts, all of the shafts are locked against lengthwise movement. But when one of the rotatable selecting and locking members 33 or 34 is rotated to the position shown in Fig. 8, in which the tangential sides 41 and 42 are just outside and parallel to the sides of a -corner of the square formed by the composite shafts, the yshaft forming that corner is unlocked by the rotatable :selecting and locking member and may move lengthwise with reference to the locking member.

When any shaft is unlocked so that it may move lengthwise in one direction or the other, it may be locked again .in ,extended operating position, by bringing the respective y. um,

channel 38 into alignment with the selecting and locking member 33 or 34, and turning the latter member through a rotation of 45 degrees.

Another modified form of my invention is shown in Figs. l0 to 13 in which the selecting and locking member 50 is reciprocable, rather than rotatable, in a transverse bore 51, the tool being otherwise identical with that shown in Figs. l to 5. The member 50 in this embodiment is a plunger having a portion 52 of reduced diameter adapted to clear any of the channels 21, 22, or 23 in the tool shafts so as to unlock a shaft with which it may be aligned. At the ends of the portion 52 are flanges 53 and 54 of such diameter as to fit within the various channels, to lock the shafts. Beyond the flanges 53 and 54, the member 50 has end portions 55 and 56, both of which extend outwardly from the bore 51 to provide means for pushing the member 50 endwise. Within the bore 51 the end portions 55 and 56 are surrounded by coil springs 57 and 58 which press against the anges 53 and 54 and against snap rings 59 at the ends of the bore 51. The springs 57 and 5S are approximately of the same diameter as the flanges 53 and 54, so that they, too, will engage any of the channels, 21, 22, or 23, and are so biased that when in equilibrium they hold the member 50 in a universal locking position, shown in Fig. 12, in which the anges 53 and 54 lock the channels which are aligned with them and the springs lock the remaining channel or channels. To unlock one of the shafts for lengthwise movement, the plunger 50 is pressed from the appropriate end, as shown in Fig. 13, until the reduced portion 52 is in alignment with the shaft which it is desired to move. When the shaft is moved slightly from its previously locked position, the plunger 50 will remain in the position to which it was moved until another channel of the moving shaft is aligned with it and will then automatically spring back under the urging of the springs 57 and 58 to the universal locking position.

The disclosed embodiments are not to be construed as limitations upon the invention, the scope of which is deemed to include any desirable constructive modification within the spirit and breadth of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a tool, a handle having a longitudinal bore, a plurality of blades longitudinally slidable in said bore and having non-circular shafts between their respective ends fitting against one another to prevent relative rotation of said blades, each of said shafts having at least two transverse channels for receiving the hereinafter mentioned selector member, each shaft having one of said channels so disposed as to-lie in a transverse plane with one channel of each of the other shafts when said blades are gathered principally within said handle, and a selector member disposed in said transverse plane of said handle and endwise reciprocable between a position in which it engages a channel of every blade having a channel aligned in said plane, to arrest longitudinal movement of said blade, and Selective positions in which it releases one of said-blades while retaining the others, said released blade being movable to a position in which another channel is aligned with said selector member.

2. In a tool, a handle having a non-circular longitudinal bore, a plurality of blades longitudinally slidable in said bore and arranged in a row side by side, said blades having non-circular shafts fitting said bore to prevent rotation of said blades, each of said shafts having at least two channels transverse to said shaft of which one channel, when said shafts are equally nested within said handle, is at a position of alignment so as to align with channels of the other shafts and another channel of any selected shaft is at said position of alignment when said selected shaft is extended from said handle, and a selector bolt disposed transversely to said shafts at said position of alignment having an enlarged portion registerable with said shaft channels to prevent References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Morgan Jan. 1, Tierce Aug. l2, Earl et al. Aug. 18, Brown May 15, Trimboli Apr. l5, 

